HEALTHNASA interest fuels bone-loss researchTests are being conducted in space, but they'll have widespread application on earth.By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. Jan. 7, 2002. Washington -- What do astronauts, people with spinal cord injuries and millions of older women have in common? All face a heightened risk of fractures resulting from loss of bone mass. The effects of prolonged weightlessness have led many astronauts to lose significant amounts of bone mass. And, once lost, the bone is difficult to gain back. Likewise, muscle atrophy and bone loss are major complications of spinal cord injury. And osteoporosis affects a large number of postmenopausal women, a burgeoning group as the baby boom generation moves beyond age 50. Some believe solutions to the common problem are the same for all three groups and, to prove the point, are conducting a variety of studies. Paul Kostenuik, PhD, a research scientist with Amgen Inc., the large biotechnology firm, is focusing on osteoprotegerin, or OPG, a protein manufactured by the body to prevent bone loss. "We've spent the last few years trying to turn this natural protein into a safe, effective and convenient therapeutic for bone loss that could be used for osteoporosis, cancer or rheumatoid arthritis or any number of things that cause bone loss," he said. Dr. Kostenuik, working with a commercial firm that helps smooth the way for National Aeronautics and Space Administration flight experiments, gained permission to test OPG aboard the space shuttle Endeavour last month. Mice injected with either OPG or a placebo accompanied the astronauts on the 12-day mission to bring home three of the men who have lived on the international space station since last summer.
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Copyright 2002 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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